Last week, the grade 4s set off to Muizenberg Beach to pick up litter. In the week before our outing we learnt about different reasons why we need to keep our beaches clean and how it affects the sea life.

There is great concern all over the world about the litter in our seas… for example, did you know that there are five ‘garbage patches’ in our oceans? One is just off our West Coast! A garbage patch is a collection of debris that is formed by the currents of the sea. The animals either get caught in the plastic and cannot move or they eat the plastic which can be poisonous to them. You wouldn’t like to eat plastic, would you?

Another activity which touched home was our Visual Literacy activity which showed a picture of sushi made out of plastic with the caption, ‘what goes in the ocean, goes in you”. The Grade 4s were completely grossed out by this advert as a lot of them love eating sushi… This made them realise that the fish we eat; eat the litter that we throw into the sea.

We were privileged to have Gregory Player form a company called ‘Clean C’ accompany us on this walk. He chatted to the learners about the dangers of plastic and was very impressed with the knowledge that our clever and eager bunch had. Clean C hosts weekly clean ups every Saturday on different beaches to help create awareness of the impact that pollution has on our beaches.

The grade 4s really enjoyed the beach and were excited that they got to do something special for our seas. We look forward to seeing a change in habits, not only on the beach but around school and the town as well. Well done grade 4s on a great outing once again!